Tag Love
by Very Swampeh
Summary: As the team prepares for the WRGP, Jack takes a moment to observe his teammates' interactions. BrunoxSherryxYuseixAkixCrow love chain with a side of CarlyxJackxMikagexUshio. Some language, spoilers for pre-WRGP.


**First 5D's one-shot for me! I really just felt the need to write something funny; the whole Arc Cradle arc is starting to make me sad. Especially since it means 5D's will be ending soon. I'm going to miss Crow. **

**Anyway, spoilers for pre-WRGP stuff. If you don't know about that thing that happens to Crow or who Sherry and Bruno are, you might get some minor spoilers. Using Japanese names, too. **

**Pairings include BrunoSherry, YuseiSherry, CrowSherry, YuseiAki, CrowAki, JackCarly, JackStephanie, JackMikage, and some hinted UshioMikage. Yeah, that's right. That's pretty much every character. **

* * *

It was a normal day at the 5D's garage.

And that meant complete and utter chaos.

Jack leaned back in his chair, coffee cup in hand as he watched the most recent burst of activity in the room. It had been two days since Crow's crash out on the highway, and with their duel against Team Unicorn less that twenty-four hours away, the team had pulled out all the stops to get things up and running.

At least, everyone except Jack. The blond huffed as Bruno bolted back down the stairs from a bathroom break. Jack still couldn't figure out when he had agreed to let the man stay with them, but it was clearly too late to kick him out now.

The garage was a mess, to say the least. With Crow out for a good while, Aki had stepped in, but her D-Wheel hadn't been upgraded with the new program or any new parts since it had been built. They had considered letting Aki ride the Blackbird, but Crow had gotten…_vocal _about that, and the bike didn't fit Aki well (she was too tall, but nobody was going to say anything), so they'd dropped that idea.

So Bruno was trying his hardest to upgrade as much of the bike as he could with the parts they had on hand. With Crow injured, he couldn't work his delivery service, so the income had stopped, and any new parts were out of the question. That was also why Jack was reduced to drinking instant coffee instead of his treasured Blue Eyes Mountain brew. Somewhere along the line, Crow had stashed all the money somewhere else, and refused to tell anyone (even Yusei) where it was. He'd hand it out every once in a while, and Jack felt like a kid getting his allowance from his parents. The fact that he was older than Crow didn't help the matter, either.

Jack scowled and glared at Crow, who was huddled on his chair at the top of the stairs and looking miserable. The duelist's moods had been swinging between furious, apologetic, and depressed, and it was starting to really drive Jack up the wall.

After spending some time tinkering with the CPU of Aki's bike, Yusei had left it all to Bruno and dragged the female duelist over to the table, where the two of them were now restructuring her deck and working on various combos. Essentially, Aki was getting a crash-course in hardcore riding duel techniques.

Jack's eyes narrowed as Yusei's hand lingered a tad too long on Aki's when he went to grab one of the cards she was holding. From his spot, Crow let out a low growl, eyes pinned on the pair. Bruno, who was tearing through something with a hacksaw, drowned out most of the noise.

Then the door was thrown open and Sherry sauntered in. Jack wondered if he should talk to Crow about spending some money on getting a new lock. Clearly, the one they had was ineffectual. "I heard that Team 5D's had experienced a setback," she said, smirking, as she made her way down the stairs. Aki stood up so fast she knocked over her chair, startling Yusei out of his deep contemplation.

"Sherry! Who told you?" Yusei asked, hastily covering up all the cards so Sherry couldn't see them. She was a possible opponent, after all. Jack wondered too, since they hadn't told anybody about it.

The blonde woman just smirked and glanced up the stairs at Crow, who scowled in return. "I have my ways, Yusei. You should know that."

"Probably beat up some Security officer for information," Crow growled out, standing up and leaning on the railing. Sherry only raised an eyebrow.

By this point, Bruno had noticed the newest arrival. "Sherry! Do you, ah, want a drink?" he asked, tossing the saw back on the worktable and hurrying over to the blonde's side.

"Don't give her anything, Bruno! We don't have the money!" Crow screeched, pointing a finger at the mechanic.

Bruno fisted his hands on his hips. "Crow, that's rude! She's a guest!"

"She's an opponent!"

Sherry waved a hand, a small smile on her lips. "That's fine, Bruno. I don't need anything. Crow's right; I am _competition_," she gave Aki a pointed look, and the redhead stiffened and flushed red.

Crow made his way down the stairs and stalked over to Sherry. "Look, you got what you came here for, so why don't you do us all a favor and get out? We got enough on our hands without having you in the way," he spat, shoving his face into hers. Bruno let out an indignant noise, but Sherry calmly turned on her heel and headed back to the door before he could say anything.

"If you insist, Crow."

"I do."

She paused, one hand on the door handle. "Yusei," she said, turning back around. "There's still a spot on my team for you." And with that, she was gone.

"Is she still trying to recruit you?" Crow asked, giving the door a final glare before turning around.

Yusei nodded once. Aki let out a half-suppressed snarl and Jack scooted his chair back just a tad. She had the look on her face that always came right before screaming, and he didn't want to be anywhere near it.

"Yusei, I need some help with installing this balancer," Bruno said, pointing back at the bike. The mechanic was staring at the door wistfully, but tore his gaze away when Yusei stood up. The two wandered over the Aki's D-wheel, which was propped up on one of the stands.

"You want some more help with your deck, Aki?" Crow asked, gesturing at the table. The redhead stared at Crow for a second before nodding and sitting back down in her chair. Jack didn't miss Crow's smirk or the sly look he shot at Yusei's back before he slid down into the empty seat and scooted closer to the female duelist.

Jack snorted into is cup and took the last sip of his drink. He stared at the empty cup sadly, then frowned and dug into his pocket for the cash he had on hand. Maybe he had enough for a cup of coffee across the street…

"Dammit," Jack swore, realizing he was just short. He stared at the wad of bills before reaching into his pocket again and pulling out his cell phone. Perhaps Carly would be willing to meet him at the café and there was the chance he'd be able to get her to cover the difference. Or maybe he could sell her the "scoop" on Team 5D's and Crow's accident. Nothing too much, of course. Couldn't have the enemy getting the upper hand.

And if push came to shove, he was sure he could convince that Stephanie girl to let him slid this one time. She always did seem to have a "thing" for him anyway. At least, that was what Martha had told him the one time he'd taken her over to the café.

Jack blinked as he realized he had voicemail- several messages in fact. As Yusei and Bruno slid Aki's D-Wheel off the platform, he raised the phone to his ear and listened, fingering the rim of his empty cup. They were all from Mikage- wishing him luck in the duel the next day, and that she would be cheering for him. In the background, Jack could pick out Trudge yelling something, though the audio was too poor for him to pick out any words. But he was sure he'd heard his name at least once.

"Hmph. I don't need luck," Jack grumbled, stuffing the phone back in his pocket and standing up. He was Jack Atlas, after all.

"Why would she use that card?" Yusei had wandered over to Aki and Crow's planning and was currently critiquing whatever strategy Crow had come up with. "It's too early. It would be better if she waited and used it with this card," he added, leaning over Aki to flip over one of the cards on the table.

Crow scowled and shook his head. "No. Look, if she waits that long, there's no guarantee she'll still be in the duel. In the WRGP, she's going to be better to strike early and fast. And this card-" Crow slid one of the cards closer to him. "-Works best for that. Yusei, she'll be able to wipe the opponent's field and deal damage. If you do that early, the opponent might not be able to recover."

Yusei tapped his chin before pulling up a chair and sitting on the other side of Aki. "But if she waits, she'll be able to destroy their higher-level monsters. That would be a bigger blow, especially late in the game."

Aki was glancing between them as they argued. The two were banging on all cylinders, and she had learned (wisely) that trying to get a word in was a lost cause.

Jack shook his head and stood up.

He'd almost made it to the door when it burst open again, this time by Carly. The reporter hurried down the steps and practically flung herself at Jack. "Jack! I was wondering if you were free today and maybe we could-"

"Get some coffee?" Jack finished the sentence with a nod. "I was planning on it, actually."

Carly did an impromptu happy dance on the spot and clapped her hands. "Great! Maybe I can talk to you about the WRGP?"

Jack scowled. "Maybe," he replied, stalking up the steps. Behind him, Bruno let out a shout as Crow bodily dragged him over to the table for his opinion.

"Crow let go! I don't know anything about plant decks."

"It's an easy question Bruno- should she do this earlier or later in the duel?"

Bruno made a nervous noise and wrung his hands together as he glanced between Crow and Yusei, who were both giving him "you-better-pick-my-side" looks. "…Maybe we could call Sherry?"

"NO!" Crow screeched, slamming a fist on the table. Aki jumped at the sudden movement and Yusei rubbed his temples with a groan.

Jack gave the chaos a final look before making his way out of the garage, Carly hard on his heels. His phone chose that moment to start ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket. The caller ID told him was Mikage (again) and he stuffed it back in his jacket without answering.

The shouting could be heard even outside the garage, and Jack picked up the pace as Zora came stalking out of the shop to go deliver a good tongue-lashing.

"So, Jack, I was wondering what you're feeling about having to take on Team Unicorn with a last-minute sub-"

"JACK!"

Next to him, Carly scowled as Stephanie cut her off. The brunette gave a small wave before hurrying inside the café to make Jack his coffee.

The two sat down and Stephanie returned before Carly could get any more questions out, and the two girls had a glaring match as Jack took a deep whiff of his drink.

Across the street, the garage door banged open and Aki made her way out on her D-Wheel. Even from the distance, Jack could tell she was fed up, and the fact that both Yusei and Crow tried to run after her confirmed his suspicions.

Carly and Stephanie had gotten into an argument, and his cell phone went off once more. Jack ignored it after a quick check showed that it was Miakge. _So glad my relationships aren't complicated_, he thought, taking a long sip of his drink.

Oh, he'd missed his Blue Eyes Mountain so much.

**Not really edited, so tell me if there are errors. **

**One of the things I love about 5D's is how almost any pairing can work. I used to be hardcore YuseiAki, but I'm not too sure anymore. And Sherry is all over everyone. Silly French girl. And Jack's got such a fanbase going on, it's ridiculous.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
